Transported to a strange realm, Aquaman finds himself facing, as is his wont, a massive monster.
Arthur’s new hydrokinesis power, though, allows him to make short work of the beast and its wranglers, and off he goes to find the mistress of the gruesome Grindylows.
Her control over vegetation allows Jenny Greenteeth to drag Aquaman into the depths under her weird castle, and begin to bleed the king. Arthur is not alone in his torments.
Who’s the mystery man? Well, you’ve likely guessed if you spotted the Sigil on page 1’s narration box.
Yep, it’s Arion, Lord of Atlantis – an Atlantis that shone millennia ago, before a catastrophe sent the golden city plunging into the sea depths. And he’s not the only surprise callback this issue, with Dagon, probably one of two very obscure Aquaman foes rather than the Team Titan also known as Nightrider, namechecked as the puppet master behind Jenny Greenteeth.
If ‘Jenny Greenteeth’ sounds familiar you’re either a student of British mythology or were lucky enough to experience the glory that was Canterbury Cricket #1. This Flashpoint tie-in introduced us to the Stupid Character Find of 2011, said Canterbury Cricket, as well as the likes of Mrs Hyde and…Wicked Jinny Greenteeth.
OK, it’s not quite the same, the updated take, Jenny, is a tad more glam than Jinny, but a green sea hag is a green sea hag – suddenly I have hope we’ll see the Canterbury Cricket again!
Er, whee?
Anyway, I liked this second issue a lot, writer Jeremy Adams tosses Arthur so deep into a mystery that he can’t be bothered dwelling on the humungous Apokoliptian arch he sees on arrival. Arthur is at his most intense, determination etched on every line of his face, a bloodthirsty mood upon him – he wants to find his missing people and won’t let anyone or anything stand in his way.
Aquaman is a bit hard on Arion, calling him ‘the old one’. I get it, he’s as bedraggled as a desert island castaway in a corny cartoon strip, but he hardly looks his 45,000 years. Hopefully, the sorcerer king will be at peak strength soon, and be able to team up with his spiritual successor. Regardless, there’s a character from Aquaman’s past who shows up towards the end who’s intimately connected to magic, so spells there will no doubt be.
There’s a new concept in here, but one that links nicely to existing DC lore, the Blue, as mentioned by Jenny a few images back. I wonder if that’s what sent Aqualad Jackson Hyde to Mars from Earth in a recent comic. I’m keen to see how Adams plans to use it.
The artwork by illustrator John Timms and colourist Rex Lokus is spectacular. As last time, Arthur has the noble beating of a king, even when covered in mud, but the extra we get here are the backgrounds, intricate portrayals of a world or weeds.
The otherworldly folk are splendid too, from the little green critters to their massive steed via Little Miss Greenteeth herself. Timms’s layouts are straightforward and stylish, while Lokus looks to have spent hours on individuals panels… hopefully he has a special program rather than knackered hands.
I like the font letterer Dave Sharpe uses for Jenny… it’s not the same one he gave Jinny, but I suppose we can forgive him, 14 years and all.
I like the cover design from Timms, but the huge great monster, presumably the same one Arthur meets inside, is a little lost, being transparent… it’s an odd choice, the yellow we have inside would have had more impact.
The mystery as to whether Darkseid is involved in this storyline is teased, just a little, but that’s not why I’m here – I’m here for Aquaman, the magpie imagination of Jeremy Adams and the gorgeous visuals of John Timms and friends. And if Darkseid shows up with his latest general, the Canterbury Cricket, it’ll be cheers before bedtime.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
I enjoyed this as much as the first issue. Aquaman is at his best (for me) when he’s an adventurer. An underwater Travis Morgan, if you will. Have those two characters interacted before? If not… I’d be up for it. There’s enough connective tissue between the two that a team-up isn’t completely out of the question. Where’s bob Haney when you need him?
In any case, totally enjoy able romp. Aquaman having hard water powers and (apparently) not being able to communicate with sea life) is big old whatevs for me. At his heart, I like him best when he’s having underwater adventures, and whether he’s got magic water powers or magic talking to fish powers matters very little to me if he’s thrown into a cool adventure.
The art team is wonderful. I’m loving the layouts and kinetic energy on the page and how well the colours suit what’s going on. High fives all around.
I would totally love it if most of the foes that Aquaman faces are underused villains from his original series. I bet there are a ton of characters that could be dusted off and given a cool updating before we ever need to check in on Ocean Master or Black Manta. Not that I’d be opposed to either one, necessarily, but both of them are a little overexposed.
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Yes to the underused villains. The now DC Exclusive Jeremy Adams should scour the new DC’s Finest Aquaman book for obscurities.
I’m not sure if Aquaman has met the Warlord, surely Skartaris has a lagoon he could swim in.
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oooo I’d be in favour of both of those suggestions! I’d much prefer that to the Warlord appearance in Flash.
There are just so many cool connections between the two characters that would make for fascinating stories.
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Oh I ad *one* little quibble. Why did the colourist choose to make Aquaman’s gloves and pants teal instead of their usual green? Were they that colour last issue? If so I didn’t notice. OR maybe it’s plot point. Is all of Aquaman’s costume coloured a darker shade becasue he went through Darkseid’s side door? I’d accept that, I guess. But I prefer the regular brighter green.
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Oh Murray, now I can’t unsee it.
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Sorry dude!
I went back to check issue 1 and he’s wearing teal pants there, too so… it’s not a story element. It’s a colourist choice.
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Bring on the yellow gloves!
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Whelp, I’m out. I run completely cold on Aquaman and most other of DC’s Atlantean heroes but I thought Adams could interest me. Nope. Atlantis seemingly destroyed yet again? Arion stripped for the umpteenth time of everything that made his character interesting decades ago in his own book? Terran myths alive and deadly on an alien planet? None of that does anything for me. The big problem with monarchs as heroes too is that you can’t rule a country/kingdom and be a full-time adventurer. I can accept super-powers and sci fi action but not that. If Atlantis, Markovia, or Wakanda were constitutional monarchies maybe but changing them would be stopgap because some writer would just undo it.
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The ‘Spare’ should be the hero, not the monarch – unless they can combine international heroing with an official tour.
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